UPDATE, 10.53AM:
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Relief could be on the way as temperatures begin to drop in Sydney with the help of a southeasterly change.
At 8.30am the mercury tipped to 37.3 degrees but at 10.30am it dropped to 30.9 degrees.
In Newcastle, the mercury has been rising slowly all morning, from 32.4 degrees at 6am to 36.4 degrees at 10am.
The same rise happened in Maitland, with 30.6 degrees recorded at 6am, which tipped to 37.5 degrees at 10am.
Cooranbong experienced a similar pattern, with the mercury at 33.6 degrees at 6am, increasing to 39 degrees at 10am.
There hasn’t been as much of a gradual rise in Scone, with the mercury at 30.3 degrees at 6am, getting up to 33.1 degrees at 8am, before dropped to 32.1 degrees at 9am and rising back to 35.4am at 10am.
The change is already being felt in Gosford with the mercury dipping to 31.7 degrees at 11am from 39.3 degrees at 10.30am.
There’s a medium chance of showers in the early afternoon and late evening, and the chance of a thunderstorm in the early afternoon for Sydney and the Hunter.
EARLIER:
THE Hunter is set to sizzle again on Wednesday, with temperatures of more than 40 degrees forecast for some parts of the region.
On Tuesday the mercury peaked at 40.2 degrees Celsius in Maitland and Williamtown, and at 36 degrees on the coast at Nobbys.
But it is likely to get hotter before it gets cooler.
While the Bureau Of Meteorology (BOM) predicts a maximum temperature of 35 degrees in Newcastle on Wednesday, the mercury is expected to soar to 41 degrees in Williamtown and Maitland.
A possible thunderstorm and a southerly arriving in the afternoon should bring some relief from the heat.
The BOM predicts temperatures will drop to 23 degrees in Newcastle and 27 degrees in Maitland and Wallsend on Thursday, with possible showers until Friday.